IPTL Profiles: Novak Djokovic (Singapore Slammers)

Novak Djokovic was born on May 22, 1987, in Belgrade, Serbia to a family mostly composed of professional skiers. Novak, of course, was destined for tennis and his encounter with tennis great Jelena Gencic was the start of the forging of an international career.  At 14 years old, Djokovic became a triple European champion in the singles, doubles and team competition. At 16, he was ranked 40th best junior player in the world after winning five ITF tourneys.

In 2007, Novak won his 2nd Masters title in Montreal by beating the top 3 players in the world — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick. A year later, he won a bronze medal in the singles division in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Djokovic also served for the Serbian national team in 2010 and helped clinch the Davis Cup trophy — a first for Serbia.

2011 proved the best year for Novak as he won 43 matches in a row. In that same year, he won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open to become the world’s No. 1 player.

Novak faced some lows in 2012. He lost to Roger Federer in Wimbledon in the semifinals and lost to Andy Murray at the finals of the US Open.  By 2014 however, the tables turned with Novak beating Roger in a five-set win and defeating Andy at the US Open.

DID YOU KNOW? Novak Djokovic may be a force to be reckoned with on the tennis court but here are some trivia that you may find amusing and awe-inspiring.

Novak can speak four languages: Serbian, English, Italian and German.

He has won 9 Grand Slams. Novak’s feat made him surpass Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi on the Open Era major titles list.

Novak is also known as “Djoker” for his penchant of impersonating other tennis stars including Maria Sharapova and Andre Agassi.

Novak and Roger Federer are rivals and for good reason: Novak is the only man to have beaten Roger in all four majors and Roger is the only man to have beaten Novak in all four Grand Slam events.

Novak’s Australian Open final match in 2012 (which he won) lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes. It holds the record as the longest match in Australian Open history.

Djokovic came from Serbia and at 4 years old, experienced the Serbian involvement in the Yugoslav Wars. Novak would later create the Novak Djokovic Foundation to help disadvantaged children in his home country get education and other needs.

(Sources from Philstar.com and Philippinemavericks.com)